


Lights

by animeangelriku



Series: Puzzleshipping Advent [13]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Decorations, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-15
Updated: 2017-12-15
Packaged: 2019-02-15 02:23:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13021254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/animeangelriku/pseuds/animeangelriku
Summary: Atem likes looking at the Christmas decorations all over Domino City, so Yugi takes him to see the giant Christmas tree in the town square.





	Lights

**Author's Note:**

> Someone on Tumblr suggested I write the puzzle nerds going to look at a Christmas tree in the middle of the town square. How could I say no to the chance of writing Atem being blinded by the pretty Christmas decorations and a giant Christmas tree?
> 
> You can also read this on my [Tumblr](http://animeangelriku.tumblr.com/post/168565440207/puzzleshipping-lights)!

The streets of Domino City are more crowded than usual. 

It’s not like there’s so many people that they invade Atem’s personal space—he can move just fine without bumping into anyone, but he still decides to stick close to Yugi, holding on to the sleeve of Yugi’s jacket. Just in case. The last thing he wants is to get lost between the sea of people around them. 

“It’s the Christmas season,” Yugi tells him, which raises more questions than it gives him answers. “Everyone’s buying presents and going out to play in the snow and getting decorations for their homes.”

Atem slows down his pace as they approach the shopping district, watching people hanging lights outside of their stores, placing small Christmas trees next to their doors, putting garlands around their windowsills…

“Is he…” Atem points to one of the stores they walk by. “Is he spraying _snow_ on the window?”

Yugi seems to be confused by his question, but when he glances where Atem is pointing, he smiles. 

“Ah, it’s not _real_ snow,” he says. “It’s like spray paint! You can use it to write or draw on glass, and it looks like snow!” 

The man finishes using the spray snow, and Atem can see the several snowflakes he painted onto the window of his store. 

“I didn’t know people also decorated their shops for Christmas,” he says, glancing at the painted snowflakes even as they continue walking. 

Yugi nods his head. “We decorate the game shop, too, but we haven’t brought out the boxes with the decorations yet.”

Atem can’t believe how bright and how… full of _life_ the streets look. There are decorations hanging from the stores and from the lampposts and from the electricity cables as well: not only strings of white and colorful lights hang above the stores, but also snowmen and reindeers and snowflakes and giant spheres decorated with intricate designs. Atem can’t stop staring up at all the decorations, his and Yugi’s pace slowing down so that he can pay closer attention to them. Everything just looks so _pretty…_

“Do you want to go see the giant Christmas tree at the town square?” Yugi asks him, and Atem turns to him with wide eyes.

“There’s a _giant_ Christmas tree?”

Yugi’s grin is not nearly enough to prepare him for what he sees in front of him ten minutes later. In the middle of the plaza of Domino City stands the biggest, tallest Christmas tree Atem has ever seen. Not that he’s seen many, of course, but he doubts he’ll ever see one as impressive as this one. 

“Wow,” is the only thing he can say, unable to take his eyes off the tree. He squeezes Yugi’s arm, just to make sure that he’s not dreaming. 

“They put it up every year,” Yugi tells him. “They have this big ceremony before they turn on the lights, and all the lights of the shops and even some of the streetlamps are shut down.”

Atem tries to imagine the street around them entirely, or at least mostly dark as people wait for the Christmas tree to suddenly light up, illuminating everything in its path. It must be an incredible sight, even more amazing than seeing it as it is now. 

“I wanted to bring you to see it the day of the ceremony,” Yugi says, “but it was the day you got sick.”

Atem unwillingly shudders at the memory. It was _not_ a nice experience—for the most part, anyway—and he would’ve much rather spent his day witnessing the giant Christmas tree before him come to life instead of staying bedridden. 

Yugi reaches for Atem’s hand on his arm and grips it tightly. “We’ll come next year, I promise. All of us.”

Atem glances down at their hands, and he pictures it: standing in front of this giant Christmas tree, surrounded by their friends and maybe even Yugi’s mother and grandfather, holding his breath until the tree slowly starts to come to life before them. 

“All of us,” he says softly, and he squeezes Yugi’s hand. “I’d like that.”

Yugi smiles at him. 

As they head back home, Atem can’t help looking back at the Christmas tree fading in the distance. It’s tall enough for him to be able to see it even as they walk further and further away from it, until the distance eventually becomes too much, and the tree disappears from his line of sight. 

He reminds himself that the Christmas tree will still be there tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that. And then it’ll go away and come back for next Christmas, and that’s the way it will be for years to come. 

_There’s no rush,_ Atem thinks, smiling to himself. _Not anymore._

“We should try doing some popcorn garlands when we get back,” Yugi tells him. At the confused look Atem gives him, he continues. “Yeah, you string popcorn together until you have a garland to put around the tree!”

Atem can’t believe his ears. “You can string _popcorn_ into a garland?”

Yugi’s smile becomes mischievous. “Want me to teach you how?”

Every single time Atem thinks he’s seen and heard everything, the universe proves him wrong. 

He can’t wait for the next time he’s proven wrong.


End file.
